There’s something about the smell of steaming coffee grinds that sets the curious journalist in everyone… percolating. Coffee-guzzlers have always used cafes as something of a casual newsroom a place for gossiping and sharing tidbits about everything from daytime soaps to national politics. And that was the starting point for Debbie Galant and Liz George the editors founders and owners of the appropriately named Baristanet which they founded in Montclair New Jersey back in May 2004. The idea is to be—like a coffee shop—a local venue for local news and opinion as well as for discussions on great food and topics like parenting. Six years later they’re pulling in six-figure revenues covering Montclair and other towns within Jersey’s Essex County.